Sino-Japanese FMs fail to resolve row

Anti-Japanese demonstrations involving tens of thousands of sometimes-violent protesters have erupted in several Chinese cities in recent weeks over a government-approved Japanese textbook that critics say whitewashes the country's wartime atrocities.

Foreign Minister Machimura Nobutaka, who departed China after a three-day visit, had sought an apology and compensation from China for damage during the riots. China balked and said Japan was to blame for the diplomatic spat and should be the one to apologise.

Beijing said it was considering Japan's proposal to have its prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, meet one-on-one with President Hu Jintao during a conference of Asian and African leaders in Indonesia this weekend. However, Koizumi said "if it's going to be the exchange of harsh words, it's better not to meet."